Staying
by twelveace
Summary: What if Turlough hadn't returned to his home planet when he was given the chance to? Based on my AU where Turlough stayed on after the events of Planet of Fire.


You should return to your people," The Doctor urged, taking a glance at the ambassador from Trion. "It's better to return when you're more of a hero, eh?"

Turlough hesitated, swallowing a lump in his throat. He stood, contemplating.

"No," He finally said.

The Doctor gave a confused expression. "No?"

"I wouldn't pass up another opportunity to explore the universe, Doctor." Turlough explained, slinging an arm around the Doctor's shoulders and dragging him back into the TARDIS. His heart sunk as he thought about his brother, but they'd survived so long without each other. Malkon would be fine.

"Come on, Peri," Turlough called over his shoulder. The trio disappeared into the police box, and sped off towards the stars.

* * *

The Doctor struggled with the young man in his arms.

No, it certainly wasn't easy navigating the erupting mud. It wasn't easy when you were fit and at full health, but now he was hardly in a position to defend himself. He was lucky he'd stopped Peri from touching the Spectrox. But he had, and Turlough was the one who had suffered the worst of it. He'd stepped into the slime.

Peri ran along the Doctor, holding the precious vial. "Can't you just take it now?"

The Doctor didn't stop to turn to her. "No time," He huffed. "If we stop now we'll be blown to pieces." He ducked as debris went over their heads. He scanned the road ahead, planning the route ahead.

Was it his imagination, or was his companion getting heavier?

Or perhaps it was just the cold embrace of death, anticipating his arrival.

"Look out!" The Doctor warned, and Peri barely missed an explosion. She dived, spilling half of the precious bat's milk into the mud. Luckily, she was quick enough to save the last of it before it trickled out of the vial. Brushing the dust aside she continued across the battlefield.

The Doctor reached the TARDIS, and he was dying.

He only had time to put Turlough down on the floor before he collapsed himself. "Is this…death?" He wondered. He was barely aware of Peri stumbling in, and figures danced before his eyes. He grasped at the console, steering the TARDIS into the vortex and into safety.

His mind spun as death drew nearer. It did feel different from usual. Usually he would almost be certain that he would regenerate, but not this time. He'd made the mistake of holding it off too long.

That's it, he thought, as he saw visions of his past friends. Tegan, Nyssa, Kamelion, and last but not least, Adric. The Adric he couldn't save. It was then that he was acutely aware of a gripping in his left hand, and he then heard the voices of his two current companions, pleading with him to regenerate. The Master showed up, and he knew that the universe wasn't safe.

The grip on his hand tightened as he found the energy flood back into him, and the change was swift…

* * *

Turlough had little time to react.

He grabbed the hatstand just in the nick of time, as the Doctor advanced on Peri with a threatening gleam in his eye. Ever since the regeneration, the Doctor's emotions and behavior had become unstable and erratic. And the coat…the less said about it the better.

"Please don't do this, Doctor!" Turlough urged, holding the hatstand between the Doctor and Peri. But still the Doctor advanced, and his companions were forced to back away, trembling with fear as they did so.

"You're confused!" Peri emphasised.

"Confused?" The Doctor bellowed. "Confused? You're the ones who are confused, surely!" He slammed a hand on the TARDIS console, firmer than usual.

"What's happened to you?" Peri retorted.

"The Doctor I knew wouldn't do this." Turlough said, tightening his grip on the hatstand, poising to strike, and he would if the situation called for it.

The Doctor stood back, crossing his arms and puffing out his chest. "Never liked him, the previous body of mine. He was terribly vulnerable, and I don't understand how anyone could have taken him seriously."

"He wasn't-" Turlough stopped cutting himself off as the Doctor stepped forward and yanked the hatstand from Turlough. He took a swipe at them, but Turlough got Peri swiftly out of the line of fire, and the hatstand just missed him by a hair and bumped against the edge of the TARDIS console.

"Doctor, please!" Peri pleaded. The Doctor dropped the hat stand completely, turning away from his companions. The TARDIS was momentarily in silence as the companions anticipated the next attack, but it never came.

"What have I done to you?" The Doctor wailed, hanging his head. "It was a terrible mistake by doing so, and I think I must become, a hermit! I shall isolate myself away from the rest of the universe, and you two shall be my disciples!" He set the TARDIS in motion, ignoring his shellshocked companions.

"Oh, why did I ever get myself into this?" Turlough muttered under his breath.

* * *

The bedsprings croaked as the Trion shifted uneasily on his bed. He sat up, rubbing his eyes vigourously. As much as he found it hard to admit, he did miss the Doctor. _His_ Doctor. The one who wore the ridiculous vegetable on his lapel, the one with the peculiar striped trousers, the one with the pleasant open face. Over time, he'd grown to trust the Doctor, and the Doctor trusted him back, most of the time. The Doctor did have his reasons to be suspicious, after the encounter with the Black Guardian.

And yet the Doctor had laid down his life (well one of them), for him. He was there when the change happened. He was beside him on the TARDIS floor, clutching his hand as he left them, and a new man came into his place. It happened so swiftly. His Doctor was here one day, gone the next. This new Doctor was everything _his_ Doctor was not. Brash, arrogant and loud. Turlough felt a bit repulsed, towards the behaviour of the new Doctor.

There was a knock on the door, and Turlough groaned as he fumbled around in the dark for the doorknob.

"I thought you'd be asleep." Peri said, resting a hand on the doorframe. Turlough welcomed her in, flicking the light switch on the wall. Immediately his eyes hurt as the glaze spread, but the pain dissipated almost as fast as it had came.

"You're not sure about this new Doctor, aren't you." Turlough returned to his bed, moving over to make space for Peri. She accepted his offer, and she sat next to him, swinging her legs back and forth.

"It feels so weird." Peri sounded like a little child, scared but yet so entranced by this big, big world. "Don't you find it weird? "

"I knew about it. The regeneration." He dismissed. "I was sent to kill him once, you know."

"Like an assassin? Turlough, I didn't think you'd be the type to-"

"I wasn't." He recalled the past encounter with the Black Guardian, and how he failed so miserably. He had tried to take his own life once as he knew his mission was certainly going to end in disaster, but it had failed partly due to the Doctor himself. "He accepted me."

"He was a really nice guy." She sighed. "I might have had a crush on him, perhaps. I've thought about it a few times. I still don't know, I guess. He was gone too soon for me to know."

"I miss him too."

"You should, you've been travelling with him for longer."

Turlough nodded. "What are we going to do now?"

"We can't abandon him, that's what." Peri leaned against him. "He needs our help."

He seemed compelled to put his arm around her, but held himself back. "You should get some rest, Peri. You've been through a tough day."

Peri stifled a yawn, clinging tighter to his arm. "You too. We'll talk again in the morning, won't we?"

"Yes, I suppose that would be a good idea." He replied, but much to his dismay the girl was already out like a light, breathing softly against the fabric of his sleeve. He let his eyelids droop, and he too drifted into the inky void of sleep.

* * *

"Doctor, I think I'd like to leave."

"You, leave?" The Doctor exclaimed. "Now? But what about Peri?"

"It's been too much, Doctor. I don't think I can handle anything after what I've seen on Varos today."

"You've fought in the civil war of your country. You've seen worse."

"You told me once that I was free to come and go as I wished."

The Doctor hesitated, before nodding, a solemn, grim expression on his face. "Then I must uphold my word and send you home immediately."

"Thank you." Turlough got out, and he returned to the TARDIS where Peri awaited him.

They said nothing for a second, but stared at each other across the console room.

"I'm sorry." Turlough spoke up.

"You don't need to be. I'll be fine." Peri replied, showing a weak smile on her face.

"Are you sure?"

"I can handle anything you can think of. We've been through a lot together. And now it's time to continue on with your life."

"And you?"

"I'll keep travelling with the Doctor, and I'll keep an eye on him. He gets into the most terrible trouble sometimes, don't you think?"

"Yes, he does."

"I'll miss you," whispered Peri, and she embraced him. It took him a second before returning her gesture.

"I guess this is goodbye, then. I'm sorry I couldn't stay longer."

"You stayed even when you got a chance to go home, and I thank you for that."

"Thanks for everything, Peri." He held the girl closer, hoping to memorise these last moments to keep forever.

"Thanks, for staying." Peri buried her face in her friend's shoulder. "Thanks for staying on with me."


End file.
